Page 67 of Slow Burn
"I'm so happy." She wrung her hands together. "Eli told me to call and check first, but I was so scared you'd say no. And the doctor told me he didn't want me traveling too much in my last trimester, so—"
I stepped forward and placed my hands on her shoulders. "Breathe, Zoe. It really is all right." I took a breath of my own. "I'm happy you're here."
Her husband must've thought something was wrong because he was next to her before I even had time to blink. His arm curled around her waist, and he protectively tucked her against him.
My hands fell to my sides. I took a step back just as he whispered, "You okay, sunshine?"
Zoe tilted her head back and looked at her husband with so much love and adoration. If I thought the smile she'd given me seconds ago was bright, the one she wasgiving him completely eclipsed it. "I told you he wouldn't mind."
He smiled down at her as if she was his entire world and I swear, I understood what it meant to look at someone like that. To know your life would never be the same again.
As if finally realizing where he was, Eli's gaze shifted to mine. The man didn't even try and hide his scowl and I respected him all the more for it. It was there because of the way I'd handled things with my sister—hiswife—and I couldn't blame him for being angry on Zoe's behalf.
Wordlessly, he thrust his hand toward me. Holding his assessing gaze, I smacked my palm against his. "Good to see you again, Eli."
With a grunted acknowledgment, he squeezed my hand hard before letting go. It was an intimidation tactic that probably worked on a lot of people. Just not me. If my sister wasn't standing right there next to him looking at me with so much hope shining in her eyes, I would've laughed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of dark hair before the little girl stepped out from behind Zoe's back. My sister immediately wrapped an arm around her and beamed even more. No wonder her husband called her sunshine. She damn well rivaled it in brightness.
"And this is Molly." Zoe's chin tilted up with pride as she introduced her stepdaughter. "I don't know if you remember her?" she added cautiously.
I did.
I remembered how she stared at my scars like I was the big bad boogeyman. Kind of like she was doing right now. Uneasiness rolled over my skin, pulling it tight. A part of me—a very big part—wanted to step back and slam the door shut.
Wanted them to go back from where they came from and leave me the hell alone.
It was the other part, the one that a certain beach ballerina had unlocked, that calmed the beast and reminded me the healing process wasn't always easy or pain free.
With a tight nod, I forced my attention away from her stare and kept my hands tightly pressed against my thighs when all I wanted to do was use them to cover the ugliness on my neck.
"Why don't we go inside." My voice was hoarse, my throat thick. Motioning toward her rounded stomach, I added, "You probably want to sit down."
She was still smiling when she cradled her bump with both her hands. "Yeah, these two arebusy."
We were silent as I led them through the house and into the living room. Well, all of us except my sister who kept commenting on the barren state of my walls. She even offered to ship me one of her pieces that would lookabsolutely amazingin my hallway.
Once they were settled on the couch, I escaped to the kitchen under the guise of getting refreshments. This was too much. After I'd gotten off the phone with Griffin, I'd felt ready to take a small step forward.
But this was a leap and I wasn't ready.
I couldn't breathe. With every rough inhalation, I desperately tried to force air into my lungs. Tried to find that little something to hold onto. To ground me. But, shit, the walls just kept closing in on me.
Closer and closer they came until I wanted to run.
A warm hand pressed against my shoulder. "Adam." Zoe's voice was so full of concern, I had to screw my eyes shut. "I'm sorry, we shouldn't have just shown up like this. I didn't think."
I snapped my eyes open and spun around to face my sister. Nervously, I scratched at a spot above my eyebrow as I searched for the right words. "It's a little unexpected." Slicking my tongue over my teeth, I blew out air through my nose. "I didn't have time to prepare," I tapped a finger against my forehead, "up here."
"Oh, Adam."
She looked so damn sad for me and I hated it. "I just need a minute."
"What if Eli and Molly take a walk on the beach? It'll just be you and me for a bit. Give us time to…catch up?" I was supposed to be the older one. The one who looked out for her. The protector of her feelings. And here she was doing it for me.
I swallowed thickly. "I don't want to chase them away."
"There will be no chasing," she vowed with a smile. "Molly could not stop talking about the beach for the entire drive up here. And Eli understands."
